Please see speaker biographies for the Ruby Sachs Symposium on Global 2SLGBTQI Legal Advocacy below. For information about location, schedule, cost, or themes, please visit the conference page.

View image in fullscreen gallery A white man with grey hair stands smiling in front of a Canadian flag. He is wearing a black suit with a blue tie and white shirt.

Bob Rae is the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York. He has served in this post since August 4, 2020. Since assuming this role, he has been active in all aspects of the work of the UN, culminating in his election to the Presidency of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for 2024–25, the second Canadian to assume this role. As such, he joins Lester B. Pearson (President of the General Assembly 1952–53) and George Davidson (ECOSOC 1958–59) as Canadians elected in their personal capacity to preside over UN Charter bodies.

Mr. Rae served as Premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995 and as interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2011 to 2013. He was elected to federal and provincial parliaments eleven times between 1978 and 2013. He has been honoured by the alumni of both bodies for his distinguished service.

Mr. Rae received his Honours B.A. in Modern History from the University of Toronto, an M.Phil. in Politics as a Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College in Oxford University, and graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 1977. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in February in 1980 and was named a Queen’s Counsel in 1984.

Mr. Rae has worked with three law firms, Sack Charney Goldblatt and Mitchell (1977‐ 1982), Goodmans LLP (1996–2007), and Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP (2014–2020), each drawing on his skills as a scholar, an advocate, a mentor and a mediator. Mr. Rae’s return to Parliament for the constituency of Toronto Centre in 2008 led to his appointment as Foreign Affairs spokesman for his party, and to his election as interim Leader in 2011. From 1996 to 1999 and between 2013 and 2020, he taught law, politics and public policy at the University of Toronto, and was a partner and senior counsel to the law firm OKT LLP, specializing in Indigenous law and constitutional issues.

In October 2017, Mr. Rae was appointed as Canada’s Special Envoy to Myanmar and engaged in diplomatic efforts to address the crisis in the country’s Rakhine State. In March 2020, he was named by Prime Minister Trudeau to be Canada’s Special Envoy on Humanitarian and Refugee Issues.

Mr. Rae is a Privy Councillor, a Companion of the Order of Canada, a member of the Order of Ontario, and has numerous awards and honorary degrees from institutions in Canada and around the world. In addition to several government reports, he is the author of six books.

View image in fullscreen gallery A woman with very short dark hair looks into the camera and smiles with her mouth closed. She wears large round glasses with red frames and a mustard coloured sweater over a collared plaid shirt. The room behind her is blurred.

M.A. Keifer Buckingham has worked in Washington, DC for over fifteen years to advance a more progressive U.S. foreign policy, focusing on issues of human rights, health access, multilateralism, and foreign assistance. From non‐profits, to Capitol Hill and the United Nations, from philanthropy to the Executive Branch, Keifer works with diverse partners, policy makers, and coalitions to drive change in Washington and around the world.

Keifer is the Managing Director at the Council for Global Equality, working to advance an LGBTQI+ inclusive U.S. foreign policy. Most recently, Keifer served as Senior Advisor for the Special Envoy for the Advancement of Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons at the Department of State. Prior to her time at State, Keifer was Advocacy Director at the Open Society Foundations and the Open Society Policy Center. Keifer also worked on Capitol Hill, advising Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D‑CA) on issues of foreign policy, foreign assistance, health care, and immigration.

Keifer hails from Cookeville, Tennessee. She currently lives in Washington, DC with her wife, two children, two beautiful dogs and adorable kitty. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from The George Washington University with a focus on global health policy, and a Bachelor’s degree in International Development Studies from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. She is active in the Federal Triangles Soccer Club and serves on the Advisory Committee of the Congressional Women’s Softball Game.

View image in fullscreen gallery A person with long black curly hair smiles at the camera. Her chin is resting on her right hand and she is sitting on a blue sofa. The wall behind her is dark red.

Neela Ghoshal is Senior Director of Law, Policy and Research at Outright International. Neela oversees Outright’s Global Trans Rights, Global Intersex Rights, LBQ Connect, Queer Legal Futures, and Research programs, develops organizational priorities concerning legal and policy change, and ensures Outright’s work aligns with international human rights law. She is the author of Outright’s report on LGBTQ Lives in Conflict and Crisis, and frequently speaks and writes about issues including repressive legislation, gender liberation, peace, security, and accountability for LGBTIQ people. Before joining Outright in 2021, Neela served as Associate LGBT Rights Director at Human Rights Watch, leading global initiatives on LGBTIQ rights and conducting research and advocacy on rights violations related to sexual orientation and gender identity around the world. She was also a researcher in the Africa Division at Human Rights Watch, based in Burundi and Kenya, where she covered political repression, police abuse, justice sector reform, and transitional justice. Neela previously worked with the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala, the Bronx Defenders, and New York City public schools. Neela enjoys gardening, debating local and global politics, and raising two feminist kids. Neela holds a bachelor’s degree in social justice studies from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in international relations from Yale University.

View image in fullscreen gallery A white person with short curly dark blond hair smiles into the camera. They are wearing a loose, lightweight sweater with vertical white, grey and black stripes.

Aaden Pearson is a Staff Lawyer and Trans Rights Legal Fellow at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA). They develop and coordinate advocacy strategies to advance trans rights in Canada as well as monitor significant developments in this area.

Prior to joining the CCLA, Aaden held a fellowship position with the Law Commission of Canada and was engaged in Canadian law reform. Aaden clerked at the Federal Court of Appeal and was a litigation associate at a boutique law firm practicing in the areas of civil litigation, public interest and constitutional law.

Aaden is invested in disrupting systems that disadvantage marginalized communities and has worked for and within communities as both a law student and lawyer. They currently do pro bono work for the 519’s Gender Affirming Care Legal Support Clinic and serve on the board of the Ontario Bar Association’s Sexuality and Gender Diversity Alliance.

Aaden holds both J.D. and B.C.L. degrees from McGill University’s Faculty of Law, as well as an undergraduate degree in journalism from Concordia University. They were called to the bar in 2021.

View image in fullscreen gallery A white man with dark hair smiles slightly into the camera. He is wearing a dark suit with an off-white shirt and a dark blue tie with small white polka dots.

Adam Goldenberg is a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP and one of Canada’s leading advocates for the rights of 2SLGBTQI+ people in the courtroom. He has represented 2SLGLBTQI+ organizations — including Egale Canada — and individuals in numerous cases that have defined the ongoing fight for dignity and equality.

Adam acted for Egale in Hansman v. Neufeld, in which the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that “counter‐speech” in defence of queer people is entitled to public interest protection and also recognized that trans individuals, and especially trans young people, are a vulnerable minority. He represented the successful plaintiffs in Rainbow Alliance Dryden v. Webster, in which the Ontario Superior Court held that those who smear 2SLGBTQI+ people as “groomers” may be sued for defamation. And he is lead counsel for Egale, other 2SLGBTQI+ organizations, and the trans and gender diverse young people and their families who are challenging unjust anti‐trans laws in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

In Adam’s broader trial, appellate, and arbitration practice, he handles business disputes and public law matters, including regulatory and constitutional litigation, for Canadian and global companies. Adam has been counsel in 28 appeals to the Supreme Court of Canada and has litigated before the courts of seven provinces and the federal courts, in cases involving myriad industries and areas of law.

Adam is a recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal, the King Charles III Coronation Medal, the Heather McArthur Memorial Young Lawyers Award from the Ontario Bar Association, and the Emerging Excellence Award from the Toronto Lawyers’ Association, among other recognitions. He holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard, received his law degree at Yale, and began his legal career as a law clerk to Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin at the Supreme Court of Canada and to the judges of the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

View image in fullscreen gallery A Black woman stands smiling in front of a window with the trans flag of Pride in the background. Her long black hair is braided and she is wearing a sandstone orange garment.

Andrea is a bold, visionary and unapologetic trailblazer for transformative change, deeply committed to human rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Rooted in intersectional feminism, she brings over five years of experience in program management, design, implementation and coordination, with a strong focus on gender equity, equality advocacy, and safeguarding practices.

Her work is driven by a decolonial and human‐centered approach, consistently amplifying the voices of historically marginalized communities, particularly LGBTIQ+ persons. Andrea is dedicated to applying her expertise to support integrated programs that foster gender justice in health, enhance economic inclusion, and empower sexual and gender diverse and structurally marginalized persons to voice and lead the positive change we want in the world. She believes in the power of collective action and allyship to dismantle unjust systems and create lasting, meaningful change where everyone is seen, valued and empowered not just to survive but to thrive, which is reflected in the recent research she is featured on allyship for equal rights of LGBTIQ+ persons.

Her proven ability to coordinate complex multi‐stakeholder events, facilitate engaging discussions, and develop impactful strategies underscores her drive to realize a more just and equitable world.

View image in fullscreen gallery A white man with short hair and eyeglasses smiles towards the camera. He is wearing a light blue-grey blazer and multicoloured dress shirt.

Artur Wilczynski spent more than 30 years in the Canadian public service working on foreign policy, intelligence, security and defence issues. He served as a champion of equity, diversity and inclusion with roles supporting 2SLGBTQ+ persons, combatting antisemitism and other forms of racism and discrimination. Artur held numerous executive positions during his career: Director, International Relations & Outreach, Heritage Canada; Director General, Strategic Policy & Planning, and Director General, International Affairs & Border Policy, Public Safety Canada; Director General, Security & Intelligence, and Canada’s Ambassador to Norway, Global Affairs Canada; Associate Deputy Chief, SIGINT (Signals Intelligence), Assistant Deputy Minister, Senior Advisor for People, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, and Director General, Intelligence Operations, Communications Security Establishment (CSE). He was the first government‐wide Executive Champion for the Jewish Public Servants Network. Artur has an MA in International Relations and Conflict Studies from Carleton University. In 2006, he was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des lettres from France. In 2021, he received the Career Impact Award at the first Public Service Pride Awards for his work advancing 2SLGBTQ+ rights.

View image in fullscreen gallery A white man with dark blond hair smiles widely into the camera with waves and a cloudy sky behind him. He is wearing a collared white shirt and a dark tie with diagonal white stripes.

Bennett Jensen is the Director of Legal at Egale Canada, the country’s leading 2SGLBTQI+ rights organization, where he develops, leads and directs strategic litigation in furtherance of 2SGLBTQI+ rights, including as co‐counsel in UR Pride v. Saskatchewan (school pronoun legislation, use of notwithstanding clause) and Egale v. Albert (ban on gender‐affirming health care for youth).

Before joining Egale, Bennett worked as a litigator and in the pro bono practice at a global law firm in New York City, where he led responses to national rights violations like the Muslim travel ban and the family separation crisis. He then served as a policy advisor and then as Director of Litigation to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada where he supported the passage of the criminal ban against conversion “therapy.”

Bennett has been recognized as a Rising Star by the American Bar Association, as one of the LGBTQ+ Bar Association’s Best 40 Lawyers under 40 and, most recently, with the 2024 Canadian Bar Association’s National SAGDA Hero Award and 2025 Guthrie Award.

View image in fullscreen gallery A white woman with long blond hair and a nose ring looks into the camera. She is wearing a white shirt.

Clare Brown is an international human rights lawyer and the Legal and Policy Advisor at the International PRIDE Centre (Protection, Rights, Inclusion in Displacement and Emergencies). The International PRIDE Centre provides legal and policy analysis, preparedness and programming tools for aid agencies to ensure inclusive programming for LGBTQI+ persons humanitarian settings. As the Legal and Policy Advisor, Clare assesses the normative frameworks in place in countries of focus; conducts field research with LGBTQI+ civil society, refugees and affected individuals in each place; and produces analysis and guidance for humanitarians on how to navigate the risk involved in their work while continuing to serve SOGIESC minorities.

Prior to the PRIDE Centre, Clare represented victims of serious international crimes, with a focus on gender‐based violations, before various international courts and tribunals. She is recognized as Counsel before the International Criminal Court, and has experience undertaking casework with the African Commission, UN special procedures, OECD Business and Human Rights complaint procedure, and in universal jurisdiction procedures. She also has experience in advising governments and non‐governmental entities on compliance with human rights laws and standards in Lebanon and across East Africa.

View image in fullscreen gallery A Black man with greying black hair and beard looks into the camera with greenery behind him. He is wearing a blue shirt.

Daryl Phillip is a pioneering LGBTQ+ rights advocate from Dominica, where he was born and continues to live and work. His journey in activism began in 2001 with a simple but powerful act: distributing condoms and HIV/AIDS education materials to men who have sex with men (MSM), a community often ignored in public health discourse at the time.

Over the next decade, while the government made strides in HIV treatment, same sex loving individuals remained criminalized and invisible under Dominica’s anti‐sodomy laws. Recognizing this injustice, Daryl founded Minority Rights Dominica (MiRiDom) in 2011 to advocate for the rights, recognition and protection of LGBTQ+ people. Under his leadership, MiRiDom pursued a historic constitutional challenge, culminating in a landmark victory: the nullification of Dominica’s anti‐buggery laws in April 2024. This ruling marked a turning point for LGBTQ+ rights in the country.

Today, as President of MiRiDom, Daryl continues to lead efforts to break the silence around LGBTQ+ issues. Through public education campaigns rooted in gender and human rights principles, he is working to foster a more inclusive Dominica, one where LGBTQ+ people are visible, valued, and free.

View image in fullscreen gallery A while man with brown hair and eyeglasses smiles towards the camera. He is wearing a purple blazer with a lapel pin, and a multicoloured dress shirt.

Luke Schleusener is the Co‐Founder and CEO of Out in National Security and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Previously, he was the Director of Public Policy at QOMPLX, an AI/ML start‐up from 2018 to 2021. From 2012 to 2017, he served on the speechwriting staff of Secretaries of Defense Panetta, Hagel, and Carter. Before that, he worked in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel from 2011 to 2012. He also worked on President Obama’s campaign in 2008 and for Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

In 2024 and 2025, Luke was recognized by Washingtonian magazine as one of the most influential people who are shaping policy. He was also honoured with the 2023 Knights Out Leadership Award at West Point for his services to the LGBTQIA+ community.

View image in fullscreen gallery A Black person with very short black hair looks into the camera with a slight smile. They are wearing a red shirt with a printed black line drawing design and a black collar.

Muyenga Bobo Mugerwa‐Sekawabe is an attorney at the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), based in Cape Town, South Africa. At the LRC, Muyenga litigates cases related to LGBTQIA+ rights and is involved in LGBTQIA+ advocacy, especially in relation to migrants. Muyenga is also the program coordinator for the International Network of Civil Liberty Organizations’ (INCLO) Equality and Equity pillar. In this role, Muyenga organizes activities and projects among INCLO's 17 member organizations in the advancement of trans rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights. They have published articles in academic journals addressing trans participation in sport as well as the need to ban “conversion therapy” practices in Africa. Muyenga holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences, Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws from the University of Cape Town and is a former Global South fellow at Dejusticia, a Colombian human rights think tank.

View image in fullscreen gallery A white person with short dark hair and glasses smiles into the camera. They are wearing a dark green, dark yellow and orange tartan collared shirt.

Samuel Singer is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa. Professor Singer teaches or has taught Taxation, Droit fiscal, Taxation Policy, Advanced Taxation, Business Organizations, and Trans People and the Law. He is also a scholar and advocate on trans legal issues and frequently presents his research to members of the legal profession. He is a member of both the Québec and Ontario Bars.

In trans legal studies, Professor Singer is currently working on a research project on advancing trans equity in the legal profession, funded by the Canadian Foundation for Legal Research. He was the OBA Foundation Chief Justice of Ontario Fellow in Legal Ethics and Professionalism Research (2020), and a guest editor of a special issue of the Canadian Journal of Law and Society on the theme, On the Margins of Trans Legal Change (2020). His article, “Trans Rights Are Not Just Human Rights: Legal Strategies for Trans Justice,” was awarded the Canadian Law and Society Association English Article Prize in 2021 and cited by the Supreme Court of Canada in Hansman v. Neufeld, 2023 SCC 14. Other contributions include a chapter on trans competent lawyering, reports for the Canadian Human Rights Commission on Canadian trans case law and scholarship, and an article on preventing misgendering in Canadian courts.

A long‐time advocate for trans people, Professor Singer worked at the trans advocacy group, Action Santé Travesti(e)s et Transexuelles du Québec (ASTTeQ) before law school. He later served as the supervisor of the Trans Legal Clinic in Montréal from 2014 to 2017. Professor Singer was also a co‐plaintiff in the Quebec trans rights case, Centre for Gender Advocacy c. Attorney General of Quebec, 2021 QCCS 191. In 2022, Professor Singer received the Canadian Bar Association’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGIC) Hero Award.

View image in fullscreen gallery A white male with short grey hair is looking upward away from the camera. He is wearing a blue blazer with a blue striped dress shirt.

Svend Robinson served as a New Democrat member of Parliament for over 25 years, coming out in 1988 as the first openly gay MP in Canada. A graduate of University of British Columbia law school and London School of Economics, Svend was called to the BC Bar in 1978. He worked for a decade after leaving Parliament with The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, coordinating their Parliamentary engagement globally. Svend has worked tirelessly for equality for 2SLGBTQI+ people, human rights, social and environmental justice, respect for Indigenous peoples and peace. He led the fight in Parliament to end the LGBT Purge and is writing a book on the updated history of the Purge. Svend shares his love and life with his partner Max.

View image in fullscreen gallery A black-and-white close-up portrait of a Black man looking straight at the camera with a neutral expression.

Dr. Sulaimon Abiodun Olawale Giwa is associate professor, interim dean and associate dean of graduate programs and research in the School of Social Work at Memorial University. Elected to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists, he is an internationally recognized scholar in community‐engaged research. His work explores the intersections of race, sexuality and state violence, with particular focus on the criminalization and persecution of LGBTQ+ communities in Nigeria and other Global South contexts. He examines how legal systems, policing practices and social norms converge to produce structural oppression, while highlighting grassroots resistance, advocacy and strategies for transformative justice. Through forensic social work, policy analysis and human rights frameworks, he interrogates systemic discrimination and amplifies the voices of marginalized sexual and gender minorities. Dr. Giwa has authored, co‐authored and co‐edited nine books that advance institutional and social transformation, inform equity‐focused policy, and foster collaboration between academic institutions and marginalized communities. His scholarship contributes to global conversations on legal reform, social justice, and the decolonial pursuit of bodily autonomy, visibility and safety for racialized and LGBTQ+ populations.